San Marco Regal - Steel vs Ti Rails

[Louis]

Other than weight due to the material difference in the rails, is there any difference in "butt feel" between these two saddles?

TIA
Louis

[Pete Serotta]

I can not tell the difference........Pete

[Clydesdale]

and can't tell a difference.

[MilanoTom]

I've got an older (mid-to-late '90s or so) steel-railed Regal that I bought a couple of years ago when Nashbar still had good closeouts. The padding is a bit softer than it is on the newer ones. Beyond that, I can't tell the difference.

Tom

[stevep]

no but the steel ones last forever.
the ti ones dont.

[Bud_E]

I recently cheaped out and bought the steel ( $30 vs. 2.5 oz. ). My butt seems pretty happy about the whole thing.

[davids]

no but the steel ones last forever.
the ti ones dont.How long do the Ti ones last? I've got one in a box.

[stevep]

How long do the Ti ones last? I've got one in a box.

long time in the box
its on the bike thats problematic.

for you?
i would get an insurance policy...
stevep enterprises...
$15 a month..

[Big Dan]

long time in the box
its on the bike thats problematic.

for you?
i would get an insurance policy...
stevep enterprises...
$15 a month..

Wow.
Same rate for a Rolls Ti?

[stevep]

Wow.
Same rate for a Rolls Ti?

no, you have the word big in yr name

$20 a month

[roman meal]

Wow, steve, I use the ti railed ones.. Half life of 12 hours?

[rounder]

I dont race...but like both rolls and regals. I couldn't tell the difference in ride between steel and ti. The difference in price (and weight) between ti and steel isn't that much. For me, I would say go with what looks good and seems to be priced reasonable.

[conorb]

and I can't tell any real difference between the two.

Great saddle either way.

conorb

[Louis]

Thanks guys. Looks like I made the right decision. I ask because for the last few weeks I've been in "saddle hell" and nothing that I've tried has worked for me. (The saddle I used to use went bad on me, and while it was great while it lasted, it's nolonger in production, so I'm screwed.) I've heard lots of good things, so I decided to try the Regal. I have no idea if it wll work, so I did not want to spend any extra money - I ordered the steel.

In case anybody cares, I asked the question because Young's modulus (E) for Ti is about half of that for steel. In this case, everything else being equal, stiffness is mostly controlled by EI, where I is the rail's moment of inertia. Since you are somewhat constrained by what you can do to boost I (best way is to increase the OD of the rail) I was wondering if the Ti railed saddle has a somewhat softer feel than the steel version. Sounds like they were able to tweak things enough to compensate for the lower E.

Louis

[jthurow]

In case anybody cares, I asked the question because Young's modulus (E) for Ti is about half of that for steel. In this case, everything else being equal, stiffness is mostly controlled by EI, where I is the rail's moment of inertia. Since you are somewhat constrained by what you can do to boost I (best way is to increase the OD of the rail) I was wondering if the Ti railed saddle has a somewhat softer feel than the steel version. Sounds like they were able to tweak things enough to compensate for the lower E.

LouisI was thinking the exact same thing, Louis. :rolleyes:

jimi

[michael white]

the steel version is softer. it's not a modulus thing, it's a padding thing. Your butt may vary.

[11.4]

In case anybody cares, I asked the question because Young's modulus (E) for Ti is about half of that for steel. In this case, everything else being equal, stiffness is mostly controlled by EI, where I is the rail's moment of inertia. Since you are somewhat constrained by what you can do to boost I (best way is to increase the OD of the rail) I was wondering if the Ti railed saddle has a somewhat softer feel than the steel version. Sounds like they were able to tweak things enough to compensate for the lower E.

Louis

In theory. But the seat post clamp creates what is effectively a rigid section, plus the shaping of the saddle rails gives a very different result from how the rails would behave if they were straight and unbent. Plus the suspension and other design issues have much more of an effect than the composition of the rails.

On the track where you get high g's in the bankings, a ti Regal will bottom out so you're sitting on the rails. Same for many of the lighter saddles. The steel-railed Regal is one good way to go in this instance. You can't tell the difference between steel and ti rails when riding them, but the steel ones do last much longer if you have a problem with saddle longevity.

[Polyglot]

In theory. But the seat post clamp creates what is effectively a rigid section, plus the shaping of the saddle rails gives a very different result from how the rails would behave if they were straight and unbent. Plus the suspension and other design issues have much more of an effect than the composition of the rails.

I agree with this in the case of Selle San Marco, but in the case of the Brooks, I can definitely feel a bounciness when riding the titanium railed saddles.